Will Data Integration Drive Operational Excellence in Mines?

The South African economy has been up and down in recent months and just as fears of a recession began to take hold again, the mining sector reversed sharp contractions due to an uptick in exports ending fears of a recession.

According to a report by Deloitte, companies that survive this turbulent cycle in the mining industry will emerge leaner, stronger and more innovate in how they operate. The key focus for mining companies up until now has been reducing their costs but that is quickly shifting to include enterprise-level productivity improvements.

Mining companies are seeking operational improvements farther up the value chain according to Deloitte. Some of these solutions that mines should look at to unlock further gains include energy efficiency programs, the adoption of lean practices and investing in innovation from automation and robotics to data analytics and materials processing.

xMMP(exploration, Mining & Minerals Processing) is a mining “ERP” solution that covers the Total Life of Mine (‘LOM’). Managing mineral rights (tenements) claims, exploration, drilling, EPCM for the development phase, actual mining, stockpiles, plant, shipping and dispatching all the way to mine rehabilitation.

Data Integration: The real gold mine

These days’ mines gather large amounts of data through the range of sensors, equipment monitors and other devices which are now standard features in most mines.

With all this information on how the mine functions, readily available mines are looking for meaningful ways to interpret this data into usable intelligence that will no doubt affect high level decision making.

This scenario requires companies to integrate their operational systems with their ERP platforms according to the report. The main goal being to enable better decision making by adopting a common platform capable of sharing information across the extended enterprise in near real time.

The good news is that modern day mine ERP platforms, like Dynamics xMMP (exploration, Mining & Minerals Processing) can support mines in this way.

As a mining “ERP” solution that covers nearly all of the Total Life of Mine (‘LOM’) requirements, this software can provide mine operations with the tools and real-time data needed to improve asset performance and guide decision makers on the path to operating more innovatively. This is done by granting relevant, current and reliable business intelligence.

Resource: Deloitte: Tracking the trends 2016 report

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Looking for a mining ERP solution that will see you through tough times? ContactResolve Immix for more information today.